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APSU reveals vision for College St., Jenkins & Wynne property

Proposed vision of College Street

Austin Peay State University recently purchased the Jenkins and Wynne auto dealership property and is revealing a proposed vision for the acquisition that includes an overhaul of that side of College Street.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — The next phase in Austin Peay State University’s future growth looks familiar to anyone who has heard of President Alisa White’s vision for the university.

Time and time again, White has painted an image of an Austin Peay that runs down both sides of College Street heading towards downtown Clarksville. With the completed $8.8 million purchase of the nearly 11-acre Jenkins and Wynne auto dealership, APSU officially is moving towards that concept.

"Huge. This is huge," said White. " ... There are things that we want to do to really enhance our physical presence, and this is that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do that. ... It truly is. Unless you are going to move your entire campus somewhere, there was really no opportunity to grow."

"It's exactly where I would have put the property, because I want to grow into downtown. So it could not be more strategic, important."

In an open-to-the-public presentation of possible plans for the recent property acquisition Wednesday morning, Austin Peay showcased renderings of the Nashville-based firm Tuck Hinton Architects’ development vision for the property and stressed the economic impact on both institution and community this proposed concept could bring.

"This is going to help us share our vision with those that might want to invest in the university's growth by helping us fund the development of the new property," White said.

Austin Peay purchased the property from longtime university supporter Don Jenkins, who gave APSU the first right of refusal when he decided to sell the nearly 11-acre site and move his dealership to a larger site near Trenton Road and the 101st Airborne Division.

"This property will add in the growth and development of downtown Clarksville," said Jenkins. "This could literally change the face of downtown Clarksville. We are just so proud of Austin Peay and this opportunity that they have."

The architects' objectives in the proposal include creating the campus identity seen on one side of College Street along the other, campus gateways along with connectors and a mixed-use-zoning property development that could tie into some of the proposed ideas, such as a multi-purpose arena the city has had for part of the downtown-revitalization project.

Currently, Austin Peay has a small section of property and building on the corner of College Street and University Avenue, the soon-to-be new student health center, that is part of the cornerstone setup of the expanded ceremonial entryway.

In the plans, Tuck and Hinton have established on College Street three zones used to develop both a short-term and a long-term vision for the area.

The first zone is academic and encompasses property on either side of University Avenue. Listed in this section for proposed and/or current buildings are academic classrooms, administration and public relations offices, university advancement and parking. The current administration building, Browning, is listed in this section, along with two larger buildings that look like classroom space in the renderings.

Social is the next listed section and runs from approximately where Johnny’s is to just past North Fourth Street. In this portion restaurants, bars, bookstores, faculty/staff housing, a movie theater, the print shop, the post office, more parking and future growth are included. This is the section that could see public-private partnerships similar to Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania’s mixed-use facility that offers student housing and ground-floor retail.

The final zone is more community- and meeting-focused and would run to Second Avenue. In this parcel, the plans have listed a possible welcome center, a center for executive education, human resources, a gallery, a center for excellence and creative arts and more parking. A roundabout is proposed here as a new campus gateway.

"I think it is awesome," said Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett. " ... I've always thought College Street and the dealership was kind of a wall to allow the campus to expand and connect downtown to Austin Peay, and we've kicked that wall down. Now it's time to start building some good stuff."

Durrett said that this vision will be a huge economic-recruitment and development tool in the continued push to revitalize downtown.

Both short- and long-term visions have the same ideas listed. In the long-term vision, 18 proposed buildings are shown, only six of which are in the recently purchased Jenkins and Wynne property lines. Three proposed buildings and a portion of a fourth lie within property that Austin Peay owned before the recent purchase.

And four more proposed buildings lie outside of the three zones and are on the other side of Second Avenue, towards Riverfront Drive.

The rest of the proposed plan cuts into properties that Austin Peay does not own, including part of the sites of Johnny’s, First Presbyterian Church and Wicked Good Sandwich and a small corner of James Corlew Chevrolet Cadillac. Wicked Good Sandwich announced over the weekend on Facebook that the sandwich shop will be moving to a new location at 605 Cumberland Drive.

Of course, university officials are stressing that this is all a vision and not necessarily a reality for how the space will be developed going forward.

Immediate use of the property will be parking for the university.

Eventually, plans are in place to renovate the currently standing buildings of the property to fill needs such as an art gallery for the 42 folk-art carvings, paintings and drawings collection owned by APSU and additional office space for cramped programs.

The university's space-allocation committee is early in the process of figuring out the best uses of the standing buildings as it is collecting ideas.

Since the visual concept revealed Wednesday is a what-if scenario of what the property could be in 15, 20 and 30 years, long-term goals for the property will be looked at by the master-planning committee through updates to the university's master plan.

Updating the master plan will take approximately a year to complete and must receive approval from the Tennessee Board of Regents, Tennessee Higher Education Commission and the State Building Commission, said Mitch Robinson, vice president of finance and administration.

Austin Peay is in the process of selling property on Strawberry Alley with the proceeds to go to fund the minimal renovations to the site in the first stage.

The timeline for full possession of the Jenkins and Wynne property is anticipated to be in April. Jenkins will have not only to vacate the premises but will have to clean the site and remove signage. The Honda Dealership portion will be cleared first and Austin Peay will begin painting parking spots there as soon as it can.

Robinson said he is hopeful that renovation work can begin late April/early May.

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Austin Peay State University Growth and College Street Expansion

Austin Peay State University's recent purchase of the Jenkins and Wynne auto dealership property on College Street opened up major possibilities for the landlocked institution that fit with the concept that Dr. Alisa White has for APSU. With the key piece of the puzzle in place, Austin Peay is revealing the proposed vision for its future growth and how that will look for College Street.